The present invention is directed toward transparent media imaging devices utilizing an integrated scanning imaging system, i.e., a system by which an object is simultaneously imaged and reproduced by the system.
Scanning systems have the function of imaging objects or reproducing images of the objects on a medium. "Scanning" refers to the typical point-by-point method by which an object is imaged and/or an image reproduced. A common example of a scanning system which is used to reproduce images is television. A television set uses a raster scan technique for creating images on the screen of a cathode ray tube.
In general, the organization of a scanning imaging system has a radiation source element which directs radiation toward the subject object, a detector element which receives the radiation reflected by the object and converts the radiation into electrical signals, an element for processing the electrical signals, and an imaging element for converting the processed signals into a reproduced image of the object.
The use of the unique integrated scanning system disclosed in the inventor's pending application, an Integrated Scanning Imaging System, Ser. No. 169,791, allows many imaging devices currently in use to be vastly improved upon.
Imaging systems currently in use require specialized hardware. If the system needs a high degree of resolution, precision optical hardware--lenses, fiber optics or the like--is required. Even low resolution systems require a good deal of space to accommodate the necessary hardware.
Accordingly, problems inherent in current art imaging systems are that the devices are bulky, require precision hardware, and are costly to manufacture.